COPY OF A DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR THE EARL OF ELGIN

AND KINCARDINE TO EARL GREY.

Government House, Montreal, April 30, 1849.

My Lord—I regret to state that rioting, attended with some consequences Much to be regretted, though happily with no injury to life, or, except in one instance, to person, has taken place in the city of Montreal during the last few days. I hasten to furnish your Lordship with an account of what has actually occurr4 lest you should be misled by exaggerated reports conveyed through the United States.

2. In consequence of the unexpected arrival of vessels with merchandise at the port of Quebec, it became necessary for me to proceed, on a short notice, to Par- liament, on Wednesday last, in order to give the Royal assent to a Customs Bill which had that day passed the Legislative Council; and I considered that, as this necessity had arisen, it would not be expedient to keep the public mind in suspense by omitting to dispose at the same time of the other acts in which the two uranches of the local Parliament had at an earlier period of the session Con- curred, and which still awaited my decision. Among these was the act to pro. vide for the indemnification of parties in Lower Canada whose property was de- stroyed during the rebellion in 1837 and 1838; with respect to which, as your Lordship is aware, much excitement has unhappily been stirred.

3. I herewith enclose, for your Lordship's perusal, a printed copy of the act in question; and I shall not fail by the first mail to furnish you with full informs.. tion respecting its character and objects, the circumstances which led to its intro- duction, and the grounds on which I resolved, after mach reflection, to sanction it. No money can be paid under it as indemnity for a considerable period; so that her Majesty's power of disallowance can be exercised with effect, should her Majesty be so advised, notwithstanding the course which I have taken. As I am writing this despatch in haste, with a view to its transmission by way of New York, 1 shall confine myself for the present to a statement of the proceedings by which the peace of the city has been disturbed.

4. In order, however, to render this narrative intelligible, I must premise that for some time past the House of Assembly, as at present constituted, has been the object of bitter denunciation, and not unfrequently of reckless menace, on the part of a certain portion of the press of the province, and more especially of that of Montreal. Your Lordship will probably recollect that the body in question is the product of a general election which took place about eighteen months ago, under the auspices of the political party now in opposition, and after a dissolution, to which I had recourse on their advice, for the purpose of strengthening them in their position as a Government. The result of this measure was in the last de- gree unfavourable to those who had recommended it; not, however, so much so in Lower Canada, where the complexion of the representation was little affected by the dissolution, as in the Upper Province, where several constituencies, among which were some of the most populous, rejected Conservative in favour of Liberal candidates. On a question of confidence rai,ed at the commencement of the ses- sion immediately after the general election, the administration was defeated by a majority of more than two to one; and a change of Government, as a matter of course, ensued.

5. This alteration in the political complexion of the Assembly, and the change of Government consequent upon it, were therefore clearly and distinctly traceable to a revulsion of sentiment in the British constituencies of Uepper Canada. In Lower Canada nothing had occurred to account for either. This circumstance has, however, failed to secure for the decisions of the popular representative body either forbearance or respect from a certain section of those who profess to be em- phatically the supporters of British interests. To denounce the Parliament a French in its composition, and the Government as subject to French influences, has been their constant object; and the wildest doctrines have been broached with respect to the right which belongs to a British minority of redressing by violence any indignity to which it may be subjected from such a source. I have now be- fore me an article that appeared in one of the principal English newspapers in Montreal at a very early period of the session; of which I transcribe the concluding paragraph, as illustrative of the temper and language in which, even at that time, and before the public mind had been excited by the discussion of the Rebellion Losses Bill, a portion of the press ventured to criticize the proceedings of the local Parliament. Ile article treats of a measure affecting the Townships, to which, I believe, no great objection was raised in Parliament. It terminates, however, in the words—" We are very glad of it ; the sooner the cloven foot is made visible the better: the obvious intention of that majority, composed of Frenchmen, aided by traitorous British Canadians, is to force French inetitations still farther upon the British minority in Lower Canada. The intention is obvious, as we said, and we are very glad that it is openly shown. We trust that the party of the Go- vernment will succeed in every one of their obnoxious measures. When French tyranny becomes insupportable, we shall find our Cromwell. Sheffield, in the olden times, used to be famous for its keen and well-tempered whittles; well, they make bayonets there now, just as sharp, and just as well-tempered. When we can stand tyranny no longer, it will be seen whether good bayonets in Saxon bands will not be more than a match for a mace and a majority." 6. To persons accustomed to the working of constitutional government in well- ordered communities it may seem incredible that such language should be em- ployed by the organs of any respectable party in reference to a body comprising the freely -chosen representatives of a constituency formed on a most popular basis: bat the cause of the anomaly is apparent enough to all who are acquainted with the history of Canada. For a series of years the Popular Representative body, and the Executive supported by a Legislative Council, were in the Lower Province especially, in a condition of almost constant antagonism. To revile the one, was the surest test of patriotism; to denounce the other, of loyalty. In a society singularly democratic in its structure, where diversities of race supplied special elemehts of confusion, and where consequently it was most important that constituted authority should he respected, the moral influence of law and govern- ment was enfeebled by the existence of perpetual strife between the powers that ought to have afforded to each other a mutual support. No state of affairs could be imagined less favourable to the extinction of national animosities, and to the firm establishment of the gentle and benignant control of those liberal institutions which it is England's pride and privilege to bestow upon her children.

7. I ant not without, hope that a steady adherence to the principles oficonsti- tutional government, and the continuance of harmony between • the ccordinate

branches of the Legislature, may lead in process of time to the correction of these tans: meanwhile, however, 1 must ascribe mainly to the cause which I have assigned the tone of arrogant defiance with which the resolutions, not of the Go- vernment only, but also of the Parliament, are treated by parties who happen for the moment to be unable to make their views prevail with either, and the acts of violence to which this inflammatory language has in the pres,nt instance led.

S. That many persons conscientiously disapprove of the measure respecting re- bellion losses in Lower Canada, which has been introduced by the Government, and which the h..cal Parliament has passed by large majorities, and that in the minds of others it stirs national antipathies and recollections of former conflicts, which designing politicians seek to improve to their own selfish ends, cannot, I for, be doubted. It is, therefore, emphatically a measure which should have been approached with calmness and caution, by all at least who are not directly interested in the issue. Unfortunately, however, this has been by no means the case. Not only have appeals to passion of the most reckless description proceeded from the local press, but they have received encouragement from quarters from which they bad little right to look for it. Passages such as the following, in which a London journal of influence treats of the British population as affected by the measure in question—" They are tolerably able to take care of themselves, and we very much misconstrue the tone adopted by the English press and Eng- lish public in the Province if they do not find some means of resisting the heavy blow and great discouragement which is aimed at them," are read with avidity, and construed to mean that sympathy will be extended from influential quarters at home to those who seek to annul the obnoxious decision of the local Legisla- ture, whatever be the means to which they resort for the attainment of that end.

9. The scenes by which the city of Montreal has been lately disgraced are the natural fruits of an agitation of this character, operating on a people of excitable temper, who have been taught to believe that a race which they despise, and over which they have been wont to exercise dominion, has obtained, through the opera- tion of a constitutional system, an authority which it could not otherwise have acquired. Hence more especially their vehement indignation against me person- ally, and the conviction—in many cases, I doubt not, perfectly sincere—that I have been guilty of a serious dereliction of duty because 1 have not, as my prede- cessors have often done before me, consented to place myself in the front of an agitation to counteract the policy of Parliament. The nature of the constitutional doctrines which practically obtain in this section of the community, is curiously exemplified by the feet that it is not the passage of the bill by an overwhelming majority of the Representatives of the People, or the acquiescence of the Council, but the consent of the Governor, which furnishes the pretext for an exhibition of popular violence. 10. When I left the House of Parliament after giving the Royal assent to se- veral bills, to which I have referred, I was received with mingled cheers and hoot- ings by a crowd hy no means numerous, which surrounded the entrance to the building. A small knot of individuals, consisting, it has since been ascertained, of persons-of a respectable class in society, pelted the carriage with missiles, which they must have brought with them for the purpose. Within an hour after this occurrence, a notice (of which I enclose a copy) issued from one of the news- paper offices calling a meeting in the open air. At the meeting inflammatory speeches were made. On a sadden, whether under the effect of momentary ex- citement, or in pursuance of a plan arranged beforehand, the mob proceeded to the House of Parliament, where the members were still sitting, and, breaking the windows, set fire to the building and burned it to the ground. By this wanton act, public property of considerable value, including two excellent libraries, has been utterly destroyed. Having achieved their object, the crowd dispersed, appa- rently satisfied with what they had done. The members were permitted to retire unmolested; and no resistance was offered to the military, who appeared on the ground after a brief interval to restore order and aid in extinguishing the flames. During the two following, days a good deal of excitement prevailed in the streets, and some further acts of incendiarism were perpetrated. Since then, the military % force has been increased, and the leaders of the disaffected party have shown a disposition to restrain their followers, and to direct their energies towards the more constitutional object of petitioning the Queen for my recall and the disal- lowance of the obnoxious bill. The proceedings of the House of Assembly will also tend to awe the turbulent. I trust, therefore, that the peace of the city will not be again disturbed. The newspapers which I enclose contain full and I believe pretty accurate accounts of all that has occurred since Wednesday last.

U. The Ministry are blamed for not having made adequate provision against these disasters. That they by no means expected that the hostility to the Re- bellion Losses Bill would have displayed itself in the outrages which have been perpetrated during the last few days, is certain. Perhaps sufficient attention was not Loud by them to the menaces of the Opposition press. It must be ad- mitted, however, that their position was one of considerable difficulty. The civil force of Montreal—a city containing about 50,000 inhabitants of different races, with secret societies and other agencies of mischief in constant activity—consists of two policemen under the authority of the Government, and seventy appointed by the Corporation. To oppose, therefore, effectual resistance to any considerable mob, recourse must be had in all cases either to the military or to a force of ci- vilians enrolled for the occasion. Grave objections, however, presented themselves in the present instance to the adoption of either of these courses until the dis- position to tumult on the part of the populace unhappily manifested itself in overt acts. More especially was it of importance to avoid any measure which might have bad a tendency to produce a collision between parties on a question on which their feelings were so strongly excited. The result of the course pursued is, that there has been no bloodshed, and, except in the case of some of the Ministers themselves' no destruction of private property.

12. The proceedings in the Assembly have been important. I enclose the copy of an address which has been voted to me by a majority of 36 to 16, expressive of abhorrence at the outrages which have taken place in the city of Montreal, of loyalty to the Queen, and approval of my just and impartial administration of the Government with my late as well as my present advisers. Some of the Opposition approve of the course which I have taken with respect to the Rebellion Losses Bill; as appears from the speeches of Messrs. Wilson and Galt, of which reports are given in the newspapers which I enclose. Mr. Wilson is an influential mem- ber of the Upper Canada Conservative party; and Mr. Gait's views are the more important because he has been returned to Parliament only a few days ago by a Lower Canadian constituency which comprises a large British population. Gene- rally, however, as the amendments they have moved to the address show, they desire to avoid committing themselves on this point. The votes against the ad- dress may be thus classed—Sir A. M‘Nab and his party, my late Ministers and their party, and Mr. Papineau. The first acts with perfect consist- ency in voting as he has done on this question; for he has always con- tended that government conducted on the British principle is unsuited to Canada. The course of the second class is less intelligible; for, until the day on which they resigned their offices into my hands, they uniformly ex- pressed approval of the principles on which my conduct as Governor-General was guided; and these, as year Lordship well knows, have undergone no change with the change of Administration. Mr. Papineau's vote conveys a useful lesson, which will not, I trust, be lost on persons who had been induced to believe that the persecution of which I am now the object is really attributable to my having shown undue lenity to those who were led by him into rebellion.

la. I have now furnished your Lordship with as clear a statement of these im- portant occurrences as I can give; and I can conclude by assuring you that the city is perfectly tranquil, and that there is no present-likelihood of a renewal of disturbances. A-few days will show what echo the proceedings of the violent

party awaken in Upper Canada, and to what extent they are followed by reaction. Meanwhile, it is my firm conviction, that if this dictation be submitted to, the go- vernment of this province by constitutional means will be impossible; and that the struggle between overbearing minorities, backed by force, and majorities rest- ing on legality and established forms, which basso long proved the bane of Canada, driving capital from the province, and producing a state of chronic discontent, will be perpetuated. At the same time, I think that if I am unable to recover that position of dignified neutrality between contending parties which it has been my unremitting study to maintain, and from which I would appear to have been for the moment driven—not, as I firmly believe, through any fault of my own, bat by the unreasoning violence of faction—it may be a question with your Lord- ship whether it would not be for the interests of her Majesty's service that I should be removed from my high office, to make way for one who should not, in- deed, hold views at variance with mine with respect to the duties of a constitu- tional Governor, but who should have the advantage of being personally unob- noxious to any section of her Majesty's subjects within the Province.

A copy of the Rebellion Losses Act was enclosed with Lord Elgin's despatch of the 30th April. The title is "An act to provide for the indemnification of parties in Lower Canada whose property was destroyed during the rebellion in the years 1837 and 1838." It recites among other matters the unanimous address of the Legislative Assembly to Lord Metcalfe in February 1845, pray- ing the adoption of indemnity measures ; the appointment of a Commission, who reported on each claim; and the necessity and justice of more minute inquiry into the claims not yet paid and satisfied. It provides that no person should be entitled to indemnity who had been convicted of high treason committed since the lot of November 1837; or who, being charged with high treason and arrested by the Sheriff of Montreal, had submitted to her Majesty's will and been transported to Bermuda. It then empowers the Governor to issue debentures for sums amounting, together with the 9,9861. of debentures authorized in the 11th of Victoria, to 100,0001.; to appoint five Commissioners who shall receive claims till the 1st of May 1850, inquire into and ascertain the amount of the losses of each claimant, and on or before the let of September 1850 report their proceedings to the Governor, stating the sum al owed to each claimant. "And if the total amount of the sums so allowed, and the said sum of 9,9861. 7s. 2d., and the expenses incurred under this act, shall exceed the sum of 100,0001., then the expenses incurred under this act shall be first provided for, and becoudly, the said sum of 9,9861. 7s. 2d.; and the remaining sum shall be distributed among the claimants in proportion to the sums allowed to them respectively by the Com- missioners, or any three of them."